Line cast before the storm,
Sent and received
Let waters churn
Offer up your burdens
And your soothing grace
So that the tide might carry
All concerns beyond
This harbour’s boundaries
And out into the wide
And yearning sea.
For more of my poetry, check out Poetry for the Sad, Lonely and Hopelessly Endangered and The All or the Nothing, available in print or e-book formats.
Click here to find out how to get your copy.
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The elixir that drowns
is a draught without measure,
a flood like no other,
an unstoppable well.
‘Tis the sweetest lifeblood,
and an undying treasure
brings me all the more closer
to the place where He dwells.
For more of my poetry, check out Poetry for the Sad, Lonely and Hopelessly Endangered and The All or the Nothing, available in print or e-book formats.
The Promise
Holistic vision:
a promise swaddled in truth.
Future redemption.
Haiku is a Japanese poetic form with a strict 5/7/5 syllable and line structure.
Cheers
Steve 🙂
I write a lot of poems, some from my head, some from my heart. Many don’t appear on this website. For more of my poetry, check out The All or the Nothing, my first e-book, available at most online book sellers.
Before me is asphalt,
an active metaphor.
My journey’s just begun,
never ending or undone,
upon this path I’ll drive,
forever sanctified.
On the eternal road of life
Your cross will be my guide.
I write a lot of poems, some from my head, some from my heart. Many don’t appear on this website. For more of my poetry, check out The All or the Nothing, my first e-book, available at most online book sellers.
Click here to find out how to purchase a copy
Upon the cross, through time inured
You gave Your life, so pure and true.
For mankind’s untold sins and strife,
You left this world when time was nigh.
Beyond the pale of man’s disgrace,
bequeathed the world eternal grace.
I write a lot of poetry, some of which comes from my head, some from my heart. Many don’t appear on this website. For more poems, check out The All or the Nothing, my first e-book of poetry, available at most online book sellers.
Click here to find out how to purchase a copy to treasure forever, or at least until some other e-book takes your fancy 😉
Night, again
and here I am,
pondering the specificity
of my unctuous requests,
enraptured and Heaven-sent
on the backs of clasped palms,
no random incidental
tests of charm.
Every night
I thank Him there,
for faith and hope and grace,
every single day I share.
all part, this humble life
under His long
forgiving stare.
Every night
I ask for love,
that this be finally done,
because without her this life
is lost and never won.
Without her
I am nothing
and no one.
And then
I turn again
to sleep, and join billions
of patient souls who pray
for all their souls to keep.
I dream of love and subtlety,
with those who wonder when
their prayers will bring them
long and
sweet
relief.
The All or the Nothing is my first book of poetry, and if you like what you’ve been reading then you’ll love it! To find out how to get a copy, click here.
Support starving poets everywhere!
You are my focus.
Without you I am a blur,
a hazy remnant lurking
on the periphery of this
sun-scorched existence.
You are the prism
through which I shine.
You are my multiplicity of light,
an enchanted, technicolour spectrum,
illuminating my darkness,
and showing me the way.
The All or the Nothing is my first book of poetry, and if you like what you’ve been reading then you’ll love it! To find out how to get a copy, click here.
Support starving poets everywhere!
The King spoke upon
the mount
to thousands who’d come far.
His words would
change
the world.
Did he know how much?
Yes, he did.
The same way he knew
He would be
betrayed,
and on his cross on Golgotha,
His Father would
forsake him,
then raise Him from the dead.
Did He know His
words and actions
would mean so much?
Yes, He did.
And He would do it all
again,
to save us with His
Grace.
I’m alone against the storm,
wearing custom-fitted armour,
courtesy of the Lord.
I’m a lone wanderer in form,
but my way is assured,
courtesy of the Lord.
I’m a fighter on the boards,
wearing gloves of solid steel,
courtesy of the Lord.
And I’m invincible,
a man of principles.
Courtesy of the Lord.
.
I haven’t written a Christian poem in a while. It’s about time I did.
Here’s one for the big guy upstairs.
Cheers
Steve 🙂
Ask and you shall receive
Perhaps it’s meant to be
Only God can say
And His phone’s currently engaged
But I’ll keep ringing
In the hope I get through
Because the answer
Is everything
Yesterday was the three-year anniversary of the worst day of my life. Those of you who are regulars will know that I celebrated (rather insanely) by walking 24 kms.
But before I did that I looked at myself in the bathroom mirror and had an epiphany. Despite the fact that three years ago I lost EVERYTHING that was dear to me, that I’ve been near crippled with depression and anxiety ever since, that I tried to kill myself, that I’m still undergoing therapy to recover from PST–I am a better man now than I ever was before.
I have accepted my failings. I took responsibility for my actions. While I can never forgive myself, God in his infinite grace, has. I find myself humbled, but stronger emotionally, physically, spiritually. Although I will never recover from depression (I’ve had it all my life), I’ve learned to manage it better. I learned who my true friends are and I value them more than anything. And I have vowed never to repeat the mistakes of the past.
I realised that I had to go through hell to find heaven (that might be a bit of a pithy analogy, but you know what I mean). Like the Phoenix, I needed to burn to rise from the ashes (I’m full of cliches today). Whilst I will always acknowledge my past, it no longer defines me. I am a new man, and I face the future with belief, hope and surety.
That doesn’t mean you won’t hear me agonising about life. But it does mean I have a new found respect for it (life, that is). And with that comes a new found self-respect. Take that, low self-esteem.
Cheers
Steve 🙂
The stone moved
The bonds broken
The body gone
All their fears unspoken
They trembled
The light shined
Son of Man arisen
Sin forever broken
There are rabbits in my back yard
Each day they rise to greet the light
With eager noses, seek daily bread
While the alpha, tall and bright
Watches oh, so protectively
Together, the family eats again
I had a family once like them
It now feels like so long ago
I loved them so, my family lost
The rabbits are reminders then
With faith and hope
I’ll survive the cost
I am promised eternal life
But am I worthy?
I have His grace
And for this I am thankful
But I still carry guilt
For sins forgiven
Something I
Can’t forget or forgive
And so I thank Him for His grace
But I will carry this pain
To my grave
You are the final piece
Of this eternal puzzle
The final piece
To intersect
And combine
To make the parts
Into the whole
Bringing purpose
And new life
Complete
It’s a question
One we all ask ourselves
When no one else is there to ask
When we think God is no longer listening
When we feel low
When we feel empty
When we feel betrayed
When we are hurt and in pain
Why?
Why me?
Why is this happening?
Why are you doing this?
But while all questions deserve answers
Answers are not always forthcoming
Because life is not a Q and A session
Life is not a simple straight line
Life veers and sways like a fraying rope bridge over a bottomless chasm
Life gives and life takes away
But whether you believe in God or not
Life is what it is
You can answer the question
And you can make the decision
To move on
Forty days and forty nights
A season in the abyss
That will pass in time
Bringing light to your dark
An end to this injustice
And a guiltless mind
The sum of all regrets
Like dew drops in my hand
Drying in the morning sun
And leaving nothing left
But the air I breathed
That filled me up
Was good enough
Good enough
Ego overtook
Speed trap coming up on right
Slowing down, humbly
Faith, hope, love, always
Far beyond the veil and pale
My belief in you
Gripping the gun tight
Trigger finger, so itchy
Targets never know
Haiku, haiku, haiku!
I loves it, yes I does, precious! 5/7/5 syllables, precious. Goods enough to eats, it is…
I walk in the light
Justified
I walk in the Word
Sanctified
I, by His Grace
Forgiven
I, the sinner saved
Forever
As a Christian I find I don’t write enough poetry about my God. Time to rectify that.
I’m taking a break from online dating. It’s just too depressing. Awkward, tiring and depressing. Big sigh.
Aside from all the women I meet not looking at all like their photos (does everyone put their Dorian Gray pictures online?), I’m just tired of the cycle: excitement at the thought of meeting someone, then the big letdown. I end up feeling like a flat tire that’s been beaten with a dead horse (at least I can still mix metaphors, very badly).
Maybe my conversational standards are too high. Maybe my expectations about lonely, 40-something women on the internet, are unreasonable. Sometimes the woman’s standards are too high, or they’re just downright crazy. My last phone conversation ended with me not being a ‘good fit’, because she received messages from the universe which she recorded in an exercise book, and I mentioned earlier I’d met a medium who ripped off sad people who missed their dead relatives. She felt I wasn’t open minded enough (probably a fair call on that one). Oh, and her ex-partner was still in her life, helping out with the garden. What?! Wow, saved by the bell that time.
So I’ve closed off my online profile and waved goodbye, possibly forever (although nothing lasts forever, as divorced acquaintances are fond of reminding me). That leaves the problem of how to to meet someone (refer here for my issues with that).
I guess I’ll just have to be patient and know that the big guy upstairs has it all worked out (we’ve talked about it a few times, but as you know, he’s not in the habit of answering immediately. Big universe to run, y’know).
I’m hoping I don’t run out of hope along the way.
But that’s another story.
Bored, or annoyed, by Steve’s incessantly despondent ramblings? Try some excessively depressing poetry instead – click here.
I’m a pedestrian
Story of my life
Knocked down
By rushing cars
At the crossing
And crossroads
Standing, watching
Waiting for impact
Knowing how much
It will hurt
But not moving
Out of the way
I am a deer
Staring down
Interminable
Inevitability
I fall down
Blood on pavement
Get up, rise again
Slowly to my feet
Dust myself off
Wait for the next one
I’m afraid
To cross this road
I always stop
In the middle
The chicken
Who never gets
To the other side
Forgets why
He wanted to cross
In the first place
Time to trust
Faith, hope, love
To hold my hand
Like the baby
That I am
Develop some
Real road sense
And better metaphors
Good luck with that
Some of us run wildly through life, without care or concern for the consequences. Some of us tread cautiously, looking both ways, weighing the odds.
Some of us let our fears overcome us, and before we know it, we’re approaching middle age and still don’t know how to avoid life’s oncoming cars.
I sit and watch
(I watch and stand)
Here in my
Womb (away from womb)
Where I am safe
(And sound)
Away from the anxiety
Of a thousand eyes (empty)
Black dog (by my side)
Guards me (warily)
'You won't get away'
He growls (with a smile)
My bed (wood and cotton, both lounge and bunk, sit and sleep, sleep and sit)
My weights (heavy metal bars and plates, engaging muscle, stamina and pain)
Guitars (mahogany, maple, rosewood, steel, tremolo and vibrato, liquid notes)
My books (precious sanity, shelves of glorious imagination untamed, unleashed)
Bible (faith, hope, love, commitment, wonder, toil, sanctification)
Laptop (lifeblood, link to the world wide network of lost, hungry, lonely souls,
fed on a steady voltage diet of creation, allusion, and self deprecation)
Here I sleep soundly
(Yet fitfully)
Waking up far too early
(And yet far too late)
Writing
And building dreams
(Within dreams)
Of immaterial reality
Here I live and breathe
(Dying inside)
Here in my
Womb (away from womb)
Another poem. So much for me saying I don't write poetry. It's almost all I've done this week. I think I've got a bit of a knack for it.
Like poetry? I'm starting to more and more. Here's a link to some more samples of mine – https://stevestillstanding.com/category/poetry/.
I joined a Christian online dating service a week or so back (get the lowdown on why, here). I was contacted by a lovely lady; we emailed back and forth, then texted, then spoke on the phone, and texted some more. We set up our first face-to-face meeting, to have coffee and see a movie together.
Then she went away for the weekend and went silent. I thought I had done something wrong and so I sent an apologetic text (I had no idea what I was apologising for), and she replied with a very nice “it’s not you it’s me” text, advising that she was going through a lot of heavy issues and didn’t want to bother me with them. See you round, and good luck with your ongoing search. I’m trusting she was telling the truth, but maybe I‘m just naïve. We never even got to meet.
(“Hah!” says Alpha Girl. “I knew you would bomb! Can I say ‘I told you so’?”
Beta Max shrugs. “Don’t worry, man. There’s plenty more fish in the online sea.”)
I’ve read a bit about online dating. I know that on apps like Tinder and sites like Match, some people play the field. I chose a Christian dating site because I’m Christian, and hopefully would avoid that sort of thing.
Being a nest of buzzing insecurities, I can’t help but wonder what went wrong. I was charming, funny, and honest. I’m a fit, late forties student with no job, a blog, and a dream that I can one day write for a living (okay, now I’m starting to see what’s not so appealing about me…). Maybe the age thing and the lack of employment made a difference. I’d like to think that my potential future dream girl would be honest enough to tell me if that were it.
(“I’ll tell you,” says Alpha Girl. “People don’t like you because you’re a boring, know-it-all, nerd. I don’t like you. You must have picked up on that by now.”
“Beta Max likes me,” I say.
“He’s an idiot, like you,” says Alpha Girl, smiling.
“Thanks a lot,” says Beta Max, slumping dejectedly.)
The Christian dating site I’ve joined is “slim pickings”, to say the least. There just doesn’t seem to be a lot of Christian women, in my age range, in my area. I don’t want to join multiple sites as that may make me no better than a serial Tinder dater (no offense to anyone using Tinder, I’m sure you’re a wonderful person who doesn’t fit the stereotypical serial hook up mould).
Maybe I’m worrying as little too much. It is, admittedly, my first failure (possibly, of many). I just have to get back in the saddle and keep trying.
I’ve been told by several of my previous partners that “I’m easy to love”. I don’t know what that means, but I assume it’s positive. I just need an opportunity to demonstrate it. And maybe then I’ll understand it as well.
(“So much for your blog not being about picking up women,” says Alpha Girl.
“I’m too depressed to argue with you,” I reply.
“Good. That’s the way it should be,” she says.)
I live in Australia, where we use English spelling. I’m proud of my spelling. It’s not American spelling. And that’s okay.
(“Will you stop that racket,” cries Alpha Girl.
“Nah, turn it up, bro,” says Beta Max. He is quickly silenced by a sharp look from Alpha Girl.
I kick the door to my room shut and keep playing my Telecaster. The distorted notes flicker, whine, twist and turn, each fingering and bend, precise and emotion-filled. I am in heaven.)
I love my music.
I’ve been playing guitar for around 25 years, and not long ago I gave my original old Aria acoustic to a friend and updated to a Takemine. It sounds wonderful and I’ve written about twenty songs on it since I got it.
I play guitar every day. Most of the time I just noodle (jam with myself on chords and scales), but often that noodling will develop into a full-fledged song, so nothing goes to waste.
I originally had eight guitars, but after my breakup I got rid of everything bar an acoustic, my Fender Telecaster and a Jackson Bass. I figure, you only keep what you need; excess for the point of excess is wasteful. I also got rid of two guitar amps and kept one, my 100 watt Peavey Transtube twin-cone.
Sometimes I wonder why I used to hang on to all the gear I did. I guess I was a bit of a hoarder.
I did the same with my CD collection. I had around 2000 CDs. When I moved out I got rid of most of them (I had them on iTunes, anyway) and only kept the ones I felt I would listen to regularly in future – I kept less than a hundred. I also went through and deleted a fair few albums from my iTunes to free up hard drive space.
You may have guessed by now that I really love my music. I’ve been a muso for so long I don’t think I really thought of myself as anything else, even when my full time day job overtook the music side of things. Now I have time on my hands, and the music is at the forefront again. My recording gear and electronic drum kit are still in packing boxes, but eventually they will come out again, when I find my own place. Maybe sooner. I cut the recording gear back considerably when I moved out, as well.
(“Did you say you’re moving out?” says Alpha Girl, her grin as wide as can be.
“Nope,” I reply. She returns to grumpsville.)
There is a change in the air. I’ve been working my way through an emotionally draining season of ups and downs, highs and lows. But I think things are getting better. God gives me hope.
And hope, along with my music and my writing, is what keeps me going from day to day.
